Nepal Fast Facts

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Updated 1333 GMT (2133 HKT) October 9, 2017

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Photos:Nepal struck by another deadly quake

People collect bricks from the ruins of buildings in Bhaktapur, Nepal, on Friday, May 15. The region was struck with a magnitude-7.3 earthquake on Tuesday, May 12, just 17 days after a magnitude-7.8 quake left thousands dead.

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Photos:Nepal struck by another deadly quake

Members of the Nepalese Army search for a U.S. Marine helicopter in Nepal's Dolakha District on Thursday, May 14. The chopper went missing with six U.S. Marines and two Nepali service members on board. Three bodies were found in the helicopter's wreckage on Friday, Nepal's defense secretary said.

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Photos:Nepal struck by another deadly quake

Nepali rescue team members work at a collapsed building in Kathmandu on May 14.

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Photos:Nepal struck by another deadly quake

Debris from a landslide blocks a road in the Dolakha district in Nepal on May 14.

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Photos:Nepal struck by another deadly quake

A man carries a jug of water in Bhaktapur, Nepal, on May 14.

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Photos:Nepal struck by another deadly quake

A man looks at massive damage in Chautara, Nepal, on Wednesday, May 13.

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Photos:Nepal struck by another deadly quake

A helicopter waits to evacuate an injured man at a Nepali army base near Chautara on May 13.

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Photos:Nepal struck by another deadly quake

A man carries his child to a camp for displaced people in Chautara on May 13.

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Photos:Nepal struck by another deadly quake

A family sleeps in an open space sheltered by plastic sheets in Kathmandu, Nepal, on Tuesday, May 12.

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Photos:Nepal struck by another deadly quake

People take shelter inside a car instead of being indoors in Kathamandu on May 12.

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Photos:Nepal struck by another deadly quake

A rescue worker from Mexico stands at the site of a collapsed building in Kathmandu on May 12.

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Photos:Nepal struck by another deadly quake

People look through the debris of buildings in Kathmandu on May 12.

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Photos:Nepal struck by another deadly quake

An injured person is carried in Kathmandu on May 12.

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Photos:Nepal struck by another deadly quake

An injured man rests at a hospital in Kathmandu on May 12.

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Photos:Nepal struck by another deadly quake

A boy sleeps in his father's lap after they moved to an open area in the Tundikhel area of Kathmandu on May 12.

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Photos:Nepal struck by another deadly quake

A car is smashed under the weight of a collapsed building in Kathmandu on May 12.

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Photos:Nepal struck by another deadly quake

A rescue worker from the U.S. Agency for International Development looks for survivors in Kathmandu along with a sniffer dog on May 12.

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Photos:Nepal struck by another deadly quake

People are carried out of a hospital building in Kathmandu on May 12.

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Photos:Nepal struck by another deadly quake

People gather in an open space in Kathmandu on May 12.

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Photos:Nepal struck by another deadly quake

A woman tries to sit up at a hospital in Kathmandu on May 12.

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Photos:Nepal struck by another deadly quake

A woman rests at a makeshift hospital in Kathmandu on May 12.

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Photos:Nepal struck by another deadly quake

Rescue teams search for survivors in Kathmandu on May 12.

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Photos:Nepal struck by another deadly quake

Debris is cleared from the site of a collapsed building in Kathmandu on May 12.

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Photos:Nepal struck by another deadly quake

Patients lie on stretchers in an open area after being carried out of a hospital building on May 12.

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People in Kathmandu hurry along a street after the quake struck on May 12.

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(CNN)Here's a look at Nepal, a mountainous country on the southern side of the Himalayas of Southern Asia. It shares Mt. Everest, the world's tallest mountain, with China. Many believe the Buddha was born in what is now Nepal.

Major earthquakes occur about every 75 years in the region because of tectonic activity, according to GeoHazards International, which reports "earthquakes in Nepal killed more than 11,000 people in the 20th century alone."

Other Facts:Nepal is one of the world's least-developed and poorest nations. About one-fourth of its population lives below the poverty line. (CIA Factbook)

Nepal is a former monarchy that is now a federal democratic republic with multiple political parties.

About three-fourths of its terrain is mountainous.

Eight of the world's 10 tallest mountains are along Nepal's border. Mt. Everest's summit is 8,848 meters above sea level, the highest spot on Earth. Kanchenjunga, which straddles Nepal and India, is the third-highest mountain in the world.

Nepal's flag is the only one in the world that is neither square nor rectangular. The shape is formed from two connected pennants.

1768 - Gorkha ruler Prithvi Narayan Shah becomes ruler of the entire valley, uniting the kingdoms of Kathmandu, Patan and Bhadgaon. The king declares Kathmandu to be the capital in 1769.

1814-1816 - Nepal and the British East India Company war over lands in the Terai, or the lowlands. Nepal signs the Treaty of Sagauli in 1816, ceding about one-third of its territory.

1846 - Jang Bahadur stages a coup and becomes prime minister. He eventually sets up a dictatorship by turning the monarchy into a government figurehead, establishing the hereditary rule of his family. The family, which adopts the honorific title of Rana (monarch), rules for more than 100 years (until 1951), leading to the isolation and economic underdevelopment of the country.

1857 - The Sepoy Rebellion against the British begins in India. Bahadur takes thousands of troops in to support the British, helping to quell the revolt and sealing Britain's support of his rule in Nepal and beginning a tradition of Gurkhas serving in the British Army.

January 15, 1934 - An earthquake with a magnitude of 8.1 occurs in Nepal-Bihar, India, killing 10,700 people.

1948 - After India gains its independence from Britain in 1947, Nepal's leaders lose crucial support and are pressured to introduce reforms. The prime minister announces the first constitution of Nepal, which calls for a state legislature with two chambers, an independent high court, and a prime minister with executive power, assisted by a council of at least five ministers, but the constitution is soon suspended amid opposition from conservative Ranas.

November 1950 - Revolt begins against the Rana regime as the Nepali Congress Party's Liberation Army engage soldiers in the Terai.

February 1951 - The Rana era of rule comes to an end as King Tribhuvan is restored to the throne after the last Rana oligarch, Mohan Shamsher, agrees to hold elections.

May 29, 1953 - Edmund Hillary of New Zealand and Sherpa Tenzing Norgay of Nepal are the first to reach the summit of Mt. Everest.

February 18, 1959 - The first national elections are held, and the Nepali Congress Party wins. B.P. Koirala later becomes prime minister.

December 1960 - King Mahendra Bir Bikram Shah Deva seizes power, suspends the parliament and key parts of the constitution.

January 1972 - King Mahendra dies and is succeeded by Birendra.

May 1991 - G.P. Koirala, the brother of Nepal's first elected prime minister (in 1959) is appointed to head the government after the Nepali Congress wins a majority (110 of 205 seats) in parliament in general elections. The moderate Communist Party of Nepal ends with a strong position as opposition with 69 seats.

1994 - The Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) is founded and party leader Manmohan Adhhikari voted into power after Prime Minister G.P. Koirala resigns and recommends new parliamentary elections to the king.

1995 - Prime Minister Manmohan Adhhikari resigns after being accused of favoring his party members. The communist government is dissolved by Parliament.

1996 - A Maoist insurgency sets off a 10-year civil war, and by 2000, almost two-thirds of the country is affected by the strife.

June 1, 2001 - Crown Prince Dipendra goes on an alcohol and drug-fueled shooting rampage during a party at the palace, killing nine people, including his father and mother, the king and queen. Dipendra dies three days later of self-inflicted gunshot wounds.

2006 - A UN-mediated peace accord is signed by the government of Nepal and the Maoists. According to the International Red Cross, some 15,000 people die and 1,300 are declared missing due to the 10-year civil war.

May 2008 - The monarchy comes to an end as the new assembly votes in favor of declaring Nepal a democratic republic.

July 21, 2008 - The country's first president, Ram Baran Yadav, is elected.

May 2009 - Pushpa Kamal Dahal resigns after the president overrules his decision to fire a senior military official. Communist leader Madhav Kumar Nepal is named the new prime minister.

June 2010 - Madhav Kumar Nepal resigns as prime minister amidst political pressure. He agrees to act as a caretaker until a new prime minister is elected.

February 2011 - Parliament elects Communist Party leader Jhalanath Khanal as the new prime minister.

August 2011 - Jhalanath Khanal resigns as prime minister, acknowledging he was unable to form a national consensus government and integrate former Maoist rebels. Baburam Bhattarai, 57, vice-chairman of the Unified Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) becomes the fourth prime minister since Nepal became a republic in 2008.

May 2012 - Baburam Bhattarai resigns as prime minister, but stays on as caretaker.

March 2013 - President Ram Baran Yadav Chief Justice Khilraj Regmi is appointed prime minister until a new Constituent Assembly is elected.

November 2013 - Constituent Assembly elections are held which lead to Sushil Koirala, a cousin of B.P. Koirala, of the Nepali Congress party becoming prime minister in February 2014.

April 25, 2015 - A 7.8-magnitude earthquake strikes, less than 50 miles from Kathmandu. A 6.7-magnitude aftershock on April 26 adds to the damage. The death toll is over 8,000, and the number of people injured is more than 17,000, according to the National Emergency Operations Center.